The challenges and blessings of the internet: Technology from an historical perspective

Abstract

This raises the possibility that new forms of learning will also be made possible by the advent of the internet. Some are already taking place. But who knows? Perhaps the internet’s impact will be far more dramatic, far-reaching, and much more fundamentally disruptive of how Jewish learning and rabbinic authority are understood. Although we have handily adapted to print, it is still too early to tell what the full impact of the internet will be. What can be said, however, is that a review of the challenges and impact of printing can help us better make sense of the new challenges and upcoming changes that are being wrought by the internet even as it may in the future develop in ways that we cannot yet fully appreciate.62 (from Conclusion)